PS1 component inventor awarded 60K in IP lawsuit against Sony

Japan's Intellectual Property High Court ruled today in favor of a former Sony employee who sought compensation for inventing a component used in the original PlayStation. The decision overturns a lower court ruling that had rejected the man's lawsuit.

Hidehiro Kume, 58, had been seeking ¥100 million ($1.18 million) for creating a "small optical pickup used to play and record data on optical discs" in the PS1, according to iStockAnalyst. The component was used in the approximately three bajillion PS1s manufactured and sold before and during 2003. The court has ordered Sony to pay Kume about ¥5.1 million ($60,000).

''I thank the court for identifying some of my contributions to the company,'' Kume said during a news conference following the ruling. ''But the company should have appreciated my contributions when I was an employee.''

A Sony representative said the company would take a closer look at the ruling before deciding whether to appeal.